


Blood Price

by Thistlerose



Series: Midnight Conversations [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Brothers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 23:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2002371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thistlerose/pseuds/Thistlerose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written in 2004.  Regulus's family react to Sirius's Sorting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Price

**Author's Note:**

> This was written before we knew the names of any of the Blacks, apart from the ones introduced in OotP, so some of them are wrong.

“At least you can comfort yourself,” says Malora Black to her sister-in-law, “with the knowledge that the boy is probably quite miserable, now, and bound to make everyone else in his dorm--” she can't say its name “--miserable.”

“ _That_ 's a comfort?” Malora's husband, Regulus' Uncle Alphard, snorts. “You may be right, you know. The boy may well be miserable. Our daughter was Sorted into Ravenclaw, if you remember, and she miserable at first, because her sisters and their friends--and her mother--made her miserable. She's happy, now, and doing well--” 

“We were not,” his wife cuts him off, “discussing Andromeda. Although, now that you mention her--” She pats into place one askew lock of cornsilk hair, on the ten-year-old girl seated quietly beside her. “Now that you mention her, I must say it makes me squirm to think of one of _mine_ , of a _Black_ in any house but Slytherin. Oh, Ravenclaw is all very well and good, in theory, and you know the girl was practically born with her nose in a book, but the only really _safe_ house is Slytherin. It's the only one that is still considers bloodlines important--though I'm sure this Dumbledore would be only too happy to see it sullied by the presence of half-bloods, or worse--Mudbloods. When I think of the filth that girl must deal with, daily... A mistake was clearly made, and I have informed Dumbledore on a number of occasions, but he insists the Sorting Hat never makes mistakes. Well, _clearly_ it does, because-- Well, what could be more ridiculous? A _Black_ in _Gryffindor_!” She turns back to her youngest daughter and says, “You would never disappoint me this way, would you, Narcissa? No, not you. Not my good girl.” She pats the girl's cheek, and the girl smiles dutifully. Regulus wishes he could see her eyes, but they're hidden by long pale lashes. 

“So, what should we do?” Regulus' father, Rigel Black, asks. He's standing by the fireplace, apart from the others, and this is the first time he's spoken since his brother and sister-in-law arrived. 

“What do you mean, what do we do?” says Alphard, dark eyebrows raised. “There's nothing you can do. When Andy was Sorted into Ravenclaw, you know we petitioned the Headmaster, the school governors, demanded--” 

“Demanded!” scoffs his wife. “Requested, you mean. Asked politely. I said it before, and I say it again, Alphard, if you'd left it to me--” 

“Well, I didn't,” says Alphard, and Regulus is only seven and not very good at reading people's voices, but he thinks his uncle sounds angry. “And three years later, the girl's fitting in. To be honest, I don't worry about Andy half as much as I worry about Bellatrix. And as for Sirius--” 

At the sound of her elder son's name, Lavinia Black raises her head and lets out a despairing moan. 

“I hear,” says Regulus' Aunt Elladora, his mother's elder sister, who is seated on her right, “that the Potter heir was also Sorted into Gryffindor.” 

“Potter!” exclaims Aunt Malora, and clutches her chair's armrest. “Disgraceful family. A blot on the name of wizardry. Oh, their blood is pure enough,” she says, turning her pale eyes on Regulus, as though he's offered some sort of protest, “but you'd never guess it listening to their political views. They think the Bloodline Records should be destroyed. Can you imagine? We should never know the Mudbloods from the purebloods. We should never know what sort of people our children are--” She stops abruptly, and presses a hand to her ample bosom. She looks quite pale, suddenly. As Regulus watches, Narcissa leans forward and picks up her mother's purse from the floor. She reaches into it and retrieves a small vial containing a milky lavender liquid. Aunt Malora takes this and downs it quickly and as she does, some of the colour returns to her cheeks and her breathing slows. 

“Potters,” mutters Aunt Elladora. She grips her sister's arm. “Who else? Does Bella say in her letter?” 

“She does,” says Regulus' father, heavily. “Evans, Lupin, Mayfair, Meadows, Pettigrew, Talbot, and Vance.” 

“And are they--” 

“Talbot and Potter are the only purebloods,” Rigel Black continues. “That's Alice Talbot. Douglas Talbot's girl. Another Muggle-sympathiser. Lupin and Pettigrew are the other boys. Pettigrew's pure on his mother's side. His grandmother on his father's side, however, was a Muggle, and there have been Squibs. Lupin's pure on his father's side, though I hesitate to describe a Scotsman as pure. His mother's a Mudblood, which makes the boy little better than a Mudblood. A rotten lot, if you ask me. All of them. Not a single one I'd welcome in my house or wish to see my son fraternising with.” 

“Well,” says Uncle Alphard, dryly, “I'm sure Sirius will see things your way, and--” 

“When,” his younger brother demands scathingly, “has that whelp ever--” 

Regulus' mother whimpers again. 

Regulus himself has heard enough at this point. He's bored, and at seven, he doesn't really understand this talk of blood and purity. His brother, he senses, has done something wrong. Sirius is always doing something to vex their parents, but this time is different, is worse, somehow, than a broken heirloom or a disrespectful sneer. It isn't often Regulus sees his uncle, aunts, and cousin. Sirius' crime must be severe, indeed, for his parents to have summoned them. 

Because Regulus does not understand, and the adults won't explain things to him, and Cousin Narcissa is ignoring him, he thinks about Sirius, and wonders what it must be like for his brother, who'd really seemed to think he'd be Sorted into Slytherin. 

Regulus knows about the Sorting Hat. He spent the summer reading _Hogwarts: A History_. He knows that it's the Hat that chooses which house a student will be placed into, not the student. The book did not explain this process, but it can't be that complicated. How Sirius managed to muck it up or how he managed to trick a hat, Regulus can not begin to imagine. 

So, he does not try. Instead, he envisions a great banquet hall, decorated with coloured banners: green and silver for Slytherin, blue and bronze for Ravenclaw, yellow and black for Hufflepuff, crimson and gold for Gryffindor. There are four big tables for the students, and one on a dais for the professors. Albus Dumbledore sits at the head of the raised table. Regulus has seen his picture on Chocolate Frog cards, so he knows what he looks like, but not the other professors. No matter. 

The new students file into the hall. Sirius, being a Black, is at the fore. He assesses the situation quickly, because that is what Blacks do. Perhaps he's a little nervous, but he hides it well. Probably he wishes this would end quickly, but when his name is called (by Dumbledore?) he strides to the high table in a manner befitting the eldest son of a pureblood family. He picks up the Hat (which, in Regulus' mind, resembles a silver crown) and places it on his dark head. 

Here, the fantasy falters somewhat. Does the Hat speak to Sirius? If it does, can others in the hall hear it? Can Sirius speak with it? Regulus isn't sure, so he has his brother turn and scan the faces of the older students, seated at their tables, because that is what Regulus would have done. Sirius sees his two older cousins. Bellatrix, who is in Slytherin, is easy to spot because of her long black hair and white face. Andromeda, who is in Ravenclaw, is more difficult to discern. The plain one (relatively speaking) in a family of beauties, she tends to blend into her surroundings, the way certain birds and moths do. 

Sirius looks at both of his cousins, and thinks about his family and what they expect of him. They expect him to be Sorted into Slytherin. _He_ expects to be Sorted into Slytherin. 

But when has Sirius ever done what's expected of him? Regulus sees his brother meeting Bella's gaze. Sirius doesn't like Bella, so he thinks at her a cool _Fuck you_ , and turns to Andromeda. He and this cousin get along considerably better, and Regulus has heard him defend her to their parents, but joining her in Ravenclaw is not defiant enough. There's no one here to punish him for stepping out of line. He can do whatever he pleases. 

He looks to the two remaining tables, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. The badger and the lion. Hufflepuff is for people who are determined, for people who are loyal to their goals. Regulus likes to think his brother is the former; he's less certain about the latter. But why follow a badger when there's a lion's tail to be tweaked? 

Sirius' gaze settles on the crimson and gold banners. His decision is made. 

So is the Hat's. 

The fantasy clouds over as Sirius replaces the hat, steps away from the professors' table, and makes his way, head high, toward the other Gryffindors. Perhaps his cheeks burn just a little. Regulus can no longer see his face. 

All he can see is his brother's back, moving inexorably away from him. 


End file.
